Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Ready for a Change



So the presidential race is over - finally! I'll tell you I was really getting tired of things by the end. But I was excited with the outcome. For a while I was torn about who I was going to vote for. I definitely liked and respected both men. And in either case our country would make history with either the first female VP or the first African American pres. Both very cool. I thought John McCain could bring a lot to the presidency just as he has to the senate for the last three decades. He's experienced, fair-minded, and patriotic among other things. However, I also thought Obama could make a great president, too. He's compassionate, motivated, and goal-oriented among other things.

What it came down to for me, and why I voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, was that after looking at both candidates' positions on the issues, I realized I agreed on more things with Obama and was excited about a number of the changes he proposes. On some of the social issues, I obviously disagreed with him, but I also disagreed with John McCain on some. And really on a number of the issues, such as immigration, they were very similar in their views and proposals.

I also appreciated that, throughout the campaign, Obama seemed to articulate his plans better and specify what exactly he wanted to do. I felt McCain was a little more vague. So while John McCain's 30 years of experience in the Washington establishment is good and has been a great service to our country, I believe that having someone who has not been entrenched in Washington as long can be a good thing. Someone with some fresh approaches and a willingness to do things a little differently. My wish now is that no matter who we all voted for, the divisions of the parties can come together and work with our new president to make this country - our country - the one that we all hope for.

2 comments:

The Rice's said...

I hope your are right and that Obama proves me wrong. I am very scared with him in power. I don't think he has enough experience to run this country and has WAY to many shady assicioates. I am also afraid he will overturn the partial birth abortions ban. I could never vote for anyone who believes in abortion. Politics is a good way to get the blogs moving!! I am excited that you are writing! Miss you! Juj

Bridgette said...

I think it's scary no matter who is in the oval office. Any person with the power that the president has can go overboard (hello, patriot act). When I kept thinking about his experience (or lack thereof) and McCain's, I kept coming back to when Paul told Timothy not to let anyone look down on him because of his youth. I felt like we could use a fresh perspective. His stance on abortion and gay marriage were the things I had the hardest time with (and still do), but let's keep in mind that McCain changed his stance from being centrist on those topics and moved to the right in both matters before he began his run. No doubt to shore up the evangelical vote, which he got most of. Of course, both candidates were trying to stay neutral on those hot button topics (notice how they didn't come up as much as in the last two races?). And when I added everything up, not just the social issues, I kept finding myself going back to Obama.

I definitely think politics is one way to get me writing :0). I also think it's great that we can have a good discussion even on differing sides. That's the freedom of America, eh?

Miss you too, girl!
Bips